Just Because You're Breathing, Doesn't Mean You're Alive
by Saiph The Swordmaster
Summary: The Zombie Apocalypse has hit, and Mike Wheeler is 18 and the leader of his party. By his side is Will Byers, his best friend and Co-leader. He's been through his share of trauma, but his party has helped him. Sure, his sister and Eleven's face still haunt him, but he's made his peace with it. When he finds his young love, old wounds resurface. Especially since she still looks 13.
1. A Ton of Rubble and Painful Memories

Prologue

Everyone remembered the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse. Some regarded it as the worst day of their lives, others saw it as the day their lives became a waking nightmare, an unfortunate amount knew it as the last day of their lives. These views were common and widespread. They were nearly universal.

But there was still a precious few that thought differently. A few saw it as an opportunity. An opportunity to get away from their dead end lives, and become part of something bigger. They were ready to meet the challenge of their new lives and were determined to conquer it.

You know what they say, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

Mike Wheeler

Who knew that Mike was going to start his Thursday by getting buried in a mound of rubble?

He walked up to the partially crushed 7-11 in hopes of finding something edible. The place didn't look remotely stable, but it was the first building Mike had seen in days. His supplies were dwindling and the fifteen year old boy was almost out of food. Even if the building was zombie infested or on the verge of collapse, he had no choice but to try.

He walked carefully to the entrance, gun ready in case there was a zombie. He opened the door like any wrong move would blow up the building, crushing him beneath a ton of rubble. Because it would.

To his surprise, the door opened pretty easily. It was almost like someone had been here before. He took a quick look around the store, sighed with relief, and coughed as he inhaled some dust. The good news was that there hadn't been anyone there for a long time, the bad news was that inhaling this dust might prove bad for his lungs. The last thing Mike needed when he was on the run was a head cold.

As he cautiously ventured further into the store, he looked around for some intact food. Staying as far from the rubble as possible, he browsed the shelves. After a few minutes of no luck, he eventually hit the jackpot.

He stumbled across a shelf with a Family Size bag of Doritos that wasn't completely destroyed, and a box of granola bars. Grinning, he shoved the haul into his bag.

Usually he would've counted himself lucky to find half that much food. Raiding half blown up 7-11s didn't often amount to much success.

But this time, he got cocky. He figured he could find more food if he wandered closer to the rubble. His mistake.

The closer he got to the collapsed side of the building, the more uneasy he got. Not only was most of the food irreparably destroyed, but the dust was getting worse.

Mike began to turn back, the dust too thick to make any further progress. But, as he began to turn around, he sneezed.

It was a loud sneeze. His nostrils protesting against breathing in the toxic air. It was so forceful, that he stumbled back several feet, right into a shelf.

The shelf, being as old and nearly destroyed as it was, couldn't stand the impact.

The whole building shook, and Mike looked up in time to see the ceiling start to fall.

"Oh, FU-" He was cut off by the ceiling falling, and everything went black. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The next thing Mike knew, he was surrounded by darkness. Confused, he tried to remember what happened, or where he was. The pure darkness was disorienting. Where was he?

He tried to sit up and figure out what was going on. Small problem, though, he couldn't. Then it hit him. He accidently made the ceiling collapse, and now he was trapped under eighty pounds of rubble.

"Shit" He swore, beginning to panic.

He tried with all of his might to move, but the rocks wouldn't budge. The panic was making his breath come fast and ragged.

"Help! I'm down here! Please! Somebody help!" He cried desperately. Fully aware that anyone nearby would be either too weak or too dead to help him.

The tears began to fall. Mike couldn't believe that this was it. He would die, not from a zombie attack, but trying to get a bag of Doritos.

He thought of his older sister, Nancy. She promised that she'd come back. She said that she would only be gone for a week. But a week stretched into two, which stretched into a month, until their coalition pronounced her dead.

Ever since they lost their parents in the initial attack, they hid out in the CSZA. (Coalition for the Survivors of the Zombie Attack.)

Nancy Wheeler was a top fighter in the team. She was a gifted shot, and quickly moved up the ranks. She was sent on dangerous missions while Mike wasn't allowed near the walls of the encampment. He was warned that if he ran away, then he was no longer the CSZA's responsibility. He would be on his own.

He was only twelve at the time, so of course he listened. At the time, there was no one there anywhere near his age, and he sometimes got lonely. His sister was out on missions more and more often, leaving Mike on his own. He normally hung out with the people who tended the farms in the Coalition. They put him to work, but he didn't mind. The company was nice. There was no one there his age, and he doubted that there ever would be. After all, twelve year olds don't often survive end of the world scenarios on their own.

Then, one fall day, he was proven wrong. It was sundown, and all of the Fighters were soon to return. They heard someone at the gate, but it wasn't anyone they knew.

When they opened the gate, they saw a girl standing there. She was about twelve. Her nose was bleeding and she looked like death itself.

Everyone thought she was a zombie and prepared to shoot. Even though Mike begged them to hold their fire, they didn't listen. They shot her.

At that moment, Mike really wished Nancy was there. Because if she was, she would've covered his eyes. But she wasn't, and he couldn't look away.

Just as the bullet was about to hit, it stopped in midair and clattered to the ground.

Before they could shoot again, Mike quickly ran and threw himself in front of the little girl, who had collapsed to the ground, throwing his arms out to the sides in a protective gesture.

He was angry, furious that anyone could shoot at a little kid like that, "Stop! She's just a kid, you monsters! You can't just shoot at someone just because you think they're zombies!"

He looked down at her. Her brown eyes were wide, and her nose was still bleeding, but she was alive.

"Are you okay?" He asked, softly.

The girl nodded, "Okay," She said.

He stood up and offered his hand, "We're going to get you help, okay?"

She nodded and took his hand. He helped her up, and they hobbled toward the camp.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Eleven,"

Mike gasped as he snapped out of the flashback. He was so deprived of oxygen, that he had begun to hallucinate.

In his mind, though, he couldn't help but finish the story. He remembered making friends with the girl. He showed her the few things left that brought joy. He might've even begun to fall in love with her. The two might've shared something more than friendship. She stayed for two months, then right out of the blue, she disappeared. Soon after, Nancy disappeared. Then Mike left the Coalition.

He cried as he thought of how the person that he shared that bond with was dead. He cried as he thought of how his sister was dead. He cried for all that he had lost, and he cried for all that he would never gain.

Soon he was out of tears, and nearly out of oxygen. The panic returned full force, and he screamed until his throat was raw, "Help! Please! Someone! Anyone!" He begged.

He was well aware that screaming would only deplete his air supply faster, but he didn't care. He screamed until his throat began to bleed. The air was too little to live on.

Soon, he couldn't do it anymore, and faded into unconsciousness.


	2. Love At First Sight, A Reason To Smile

Will Byers

Will's day was going well, too well, and he was beginning to get suspicious. The sun was bright, his food supply was good, and the last time he saw a zombie was 10 miles ago. Even last night's sleep had been dreamless and peaceful. He'd been walking since dawn, and yet his feet didn't hurt. He was a little weirded out, but he didn't become truly suspicious until he found the 7-11.

He looked up at the sky and frowned, "Nice try. But I'm Will Byers, I know my luck is shit. If I'm going to die today, can you at least give it to me straight?"

There was no reply, the sun kept shining, the birds kept chirping, and the breeze kept blowing.

His frown deepened, "No, really. I don't mind. I've been wishing I was dead for the last five years," He said.

There was still nothing. It was almost as if the universe was mocking him.

He scowled at the sky and kept going, planning to walk by the gas station. He knew that the 7-11 was too good to be true. It was half destroyed anyway. There was no point in raiding it, he stocked up on supplies about 15 miles ago anyway. They'd last until he got a safer bet.

He was just about to pass the place by when he heard it. Though it was muffled, the ear piercing scream was too disturbing to miss.

"Help! Please! Someone! Anyone!" The words were quick and terrified.

The words soon dissolved into incomprehensible screams. His heart leapt into his throat. Normally, if he heard screaming, he ignored it and ran away. But something was keeping him rooted to the spot. He couldn't leave this time.

Why? Will had no idea. All he knew was that something made him want to save the person. Maybe it was the fact that he sounded young, about Will's age. Or maybe it was the fact that he couldn't run away again.

Either way, he found himself running in the direction of the screamer. He was shouting reassurances, "I'm coming! Don't worry! Hold on!" He shouted.

He doubted the boy could hear him, but he did it anyway.

Pretty soon, he found the boy. The scene was bad. Even worse than he feared. He must've been buried under at least fifty pounds of rubble.

"Damn it!" Will cursed, looking around helplessly. There wasn't much he could do, and he couldn't exactly lift the boulder. He wasn't Superman.

He had to find an alternate solution, and with the way that the boy was screaming, he'd only have a few minutes to do so.

There was no obvious solution in sight, and just as he was about to give up hope, he saw it. There was a piece of a broken stop sign. It was essentially a metal stick, about three feet in length. Everything he'd ever learned about physics came rushing into his mind, and he picked up the pole. To his relief, though it was pretty heavy, Will's admittedly scrawny frame could manage its weight.

He hurried back to the place where the boy was buried. He brandished the pole and stuck it in a crack between the crushing rocks. Once he got the lever wedged in far enough, he began putting weight on it.

He tried several times to work the lever, failing worse and worse each time. No matter how much weight he put on it, the boulder never budged.

When he stopped to take a break, he noticed something strange. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. He looked down at his contraption, frowning. What was that sound? There was something off about sound.

It hit him in that instant, he couldn't hear anything, "Shit!'

With a new vigor, he grabbed his homemade lever. The adrenaline pumping through his system making forcing the boulders apart much easier.

After much struggle, Will finally succeeded. The top boulder was moved to reveal something that would make Will's world stop.

Laying there, covered in blood and dust, was the most beautiful boy that Will had ever seen.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared. Even though his chin length curls were matted with blood, his angelic face was black with grime, and he was painfully skinny, he was still gorgeous.

"Oh, Wow," He breathed.

Then, after an embarrassingly long period of staring, Will snapped back into reality. He realized that he couldn't detect the rise and fall of the boy's chest, and panicked.

Will ran to the boy and knelt by his side, "Hey! Hey, can you hear me?" He called, shaking the unconscious boy.

He didn't respond no matter what Will did, and he came to the realization that he'd have to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Blushing furiously, he lowered his mouth down to the other boy's. The situation was embarrassing, and Will only hoped that he would manage to save the boy's life.

Everything was going in slow motion. He was three inches from the boy's lips, then two, then-

At that moment, the beautiful boy opened his eyes and coughed fiercely. Startled and embarrassed, Will jumped and fell backwards on his butt.

"What the fu- What happened?" Gorgeous asked in a confused and groggy tone.

"U- Uh- I- Uh-" Will stuttered, a blush growing on his cheeks.

"Who the hell are you!?" He demanded, growing more scared and confused.

Will took a deep breath and put himself back together, "My name is Will Byers. I found you buried under a huge rock. I-I-" Will broke off. Why was he so emotional about this handsome stranger?

The boy frowned, "That's right, the rubble," He muttered. His face became alert, "You dug me out of there?" He asked.

Will was startled, "Um- Yeah," He managed.

"How can I ever thank you? You saved my life!" He cried.

A sudden protective determination filled Will, "You can rest. You've been through a lot today," He paused, "What's your name?"

"It's Mike. Mike Wheeler. Nice to meet you, Byers," He said.

"Nice to meet you too, now get some rest. I'll see what I can do about your injuries," Will said, beginning to walk towards the 7-11.

"Wait!" Mike said.

Will turned around, "What is it?" He asked.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked.

Will paused for a second to think of his answer, "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I just- I couldn't walk away. I don't know why," He said.

Mike nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer, "Okay," He said, resting his head back on the ground.

Will turned away, and was shocked to realize he was smiling. As he walked into the unstable establishment, he had to wonder.

When was the last time that he had a reason to smile?


	3. A New Friend, A Nice Smile

Chapter Three: Mike Wheeler

Mike stared at Will Byers as he walked away, confusion making his head spin. Mike was a smart guy, and he was normally pretty good at reading people. But for the first time in his life, he was totally stumped. He had no idea what was going on inside Byers' head. And that, well that ladies and gentlemen, simply made him want to know more.

Byers' intrigued him, so he wasn't letting him leave anytime soon.

When he returned to the place that Mike was resting, he produced not only a first aid kit, but also Mike's backpack.

"Where did you get that?!" Mike asked, genuinely happy to see his bag.

"Oh, this? I found it a few feet away from where the ceiling collapsed. Is it yours?" He asked.

"Yeah, man! I thought it got crushed," Mike said, smiling at the bag.

Byers gently set the bag down next to him, and knelt by his other side, "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?" He asked, genuine concern in his eyes.

Mike frowned, what was this guy's agenda? What was Will's endgame? What did this mystery boy want?

It took him a second to realize that Byers expected an answer, "Huh? Oh! Fine, I'm fine!" Mike yelped.

Byers gave him a look, "You wouldn't know this, but we Byers' are like human lie detectors. I am wise and all knowing, dishonesty is futile," He said.

Mike gave him a weird look, which slowly turned into a smile. Whoever this guy was, he had a sense of humor, "Whatever you say, Will the Wise. But seriously, I'm fine."

Byers almost cracked a smile at that one, and opened the first aid kit. He grabbed alcohol, bandages, and antibacterial cream, and began to work on Mike's injuries.

Several minutes passed of awkward silence and the only sounds either of them made was the occasional hiss of pain from Mike, but he eventually managed to patch the boy up.

The two just sat there in silence. Mike tried to read Byers' expression, but was surprised to find that he couldn't. Intrigued, and sick of the awkward silence, he tried to strike up a conversation, "So… Where are you going? You mentioned that you didn't plan on stopping here, are you in a hurry to get somewhere? What are your plans?" He asked, fully expecting him to dodge or otherwise ignore his very personal question. After all, what reason had Mike ever given for him to trust him?

Surprisingly, he responded right away, "I'm not really, going anywhere. I'm just trying to make it from one day to the next."

Mike frowned, his interest was quickly turning into frustration, "Why are you doing this? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you saved me, but you had no reason to. What reason do you have to trust me? What reason do I have to trust you?" He finished, narrowing his eyes at Byers.

Instead of getting angry or freaking out, he sighed, "None. I have absolutely no reason to trust you. You have absolutely no reason to trust me. Nothing that just happened is remotely logic based. I acted purely on my emotions, nothing more. I really don't have some sort of hidden agenda, I promise," He said.

"Does that lie detecting ability allow you to lie, Byers?" Mike asked.

Will thought the question over, "I can, but I don't" He said.

Mike nodded, "So, you mentioned that neither of us have any reason to trust each other?"

"Yeah," He said.

For the first time in a while, Mike grinned, "Then that means we're even. What do you say, Byers? Do you want to make an alliance?"

He stared at him for a second before he spoke, "I- Yeah. That would be nice," He said.

Mike grinned even wider, "Great! Friends?" He asked, offering Byers his hand.

He didn't hesitate to take Mike's outstretched hand, "Friends," He said, smiling softly.

It was the first time Mike had ever seen the boy smile, and was pleasantly surprised to see how much nicer his face looked that way, "I think this is the first time I've ever seen you smile," He remarked.

"Well, I guess I haven't really haven't had much of a reason to lately," He replied.

Mike put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a genuine smile, "I like it, it suits you, Byers,"

Mike frowned as he noticed the weird pink tinge to Will's cheeks, "Are you okay? Your face is turning red," He said.

He jumped, "I-I'm fine. I'm just a little… cold! I'm cold! I get cold… very… easily,"

It really wasn't cold. It was a 50 degree day in April, but Mike decided not to question him, "Well, we should get going then. After all, I don't want to stay here all day, and we should find a campsite before dark," He said.

"Yeah! I heard the dust from collapsing buildings isn't good for your lungs. We should find somewhere with a little more cover, anyway. This place won't be much good if any zombies come in the middle of the night," Byers jumped to his feet, and reached down to help Mike stand.

"Well then, let's go!" Mike said, taking his hand and pulling himself up. As far as injuries went, while bad, they could've been a lot worse.

The two headed off into the newly setting sun, in search of a campsite.

As soon as they found a clear enough path to travel with Mike's injuries, they took it. After an hour passed, Mike was beginning to get weaker, and as another half hour passed, he needed Will's support to walk.

He didn't know how he looked, but guessing by the look on Byers' face, he didn't look so hot. He ignored all of the pain throughout his body and pushed forward. The forest was safer than the open road, for there was more cover from the zombies and murderers. The only reason Mike ever strayed from the safety of the trees was that he needed more supplies, and look what happened!

After yet another half hour passed and the sun had long set, Byers was practically carrying him.

"I can't go any farther," Mike croaked. He felt like death, and knew that Will couldn't take carrying him anymore.

"Okay, here will have to do," Will panted, collapsing to the ground and dropping Mike. The two just kinda lay there for a while, catching their breath.

After a while, Byers had the energy to talk, "I'll start a fire,"

Mike wanted to help, but he could barely move. Instead he nodded and slurred a quiet, "Okay…"

Once he succeeded in doing so, he managed to prop Mike up and get him some food. Mike felt humiliated, but Will wouldn't hear any of his mumbled apologies.

"Stop apologizing, Mike. After all, that's what friends are for," He said.

He blurted out a weird request, "Can you smile again?"

"Huh?"

"You look nice, when you smile," Mike mumbled.

Will, probably deciding that Mike was delirious, decided to honor his request. His face was lit up by the fire, showing off his weary smile.

Mike smiled back and closed his eyes. He felt Byers awkwardly pat his head as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


End file.
